VK Singh to return with mortal remains of 38 Indians today, says like martyrs they come home

VK Singh will land in Amritsar today with bodies of 38 Indians, who went missing in in Mosul in June 2014.

The Indian Air Force C17 aircraft carrying mortal remains of 38 Indians, who went missing in in Mosul in June 2014 is expected to land in Amritsar today.

While Iraq's Martyr's Foundation has been able to determine the DNA match for 38 Indians, the 39th Indian Raju Yadav's DNA matching is still under process.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh had left for Iraq on April 1 to bring back mortal remains of 38 Indians who were killed by ISIS in Mosul.

VK Singh told India Today, "I have the mortal remains of 38 Indians with me. I thank the Iraqi government and the foundation for their assistance."

"I will be flying straight to Amritsar followed by Patna and Kolkata," he added further.

The bodies were stored in a freezer at the Medico Legal Institute of Iraq in Baghdad. Majority of the deceased Indians are from Punjab.

Talking to the media on April 1, VK Singh had said, "I am going there (Mosul), I am taking C17 so that we can put the coffins properly, it will take six and half an hour to reach there. We can't bring mortal remains of Raju Yadav but we will bring rest of the five to Patna."

Further adding, "I would like to convey that no family needs to come to the airport, We had a word with the state government, just like a martyr we will send each and every one's mortal remains to their family."

"This is sad that they died there, ISIS has killed 3 lakhs people yet, they are a very cruel terrorist group," he added.

On March 20, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj informed the Parliament that bodies of the 39 Indians who went missing in Mosul in 2014 were found in a mass grave in Badoosh.

Some of the family members came to New Delhi the week after to meet the minister and had placed two demands -- one, that the bodies be brought back at the earliest and secondly, that the family members be compensated.